At CES in January, Yale announced they would soon release an NFC residential lock, the first of its kind in the US. A product page with the option to pre-order went up soon thereafter with the promise of delivery sometime in April. The ship date was updated today, and it seems Yale is going to miss their target − but not by much. The Yale YRD340 Mobile Phone Entry lock will be available May 4th for $224.99. It comes in three different colors: oil rubbed bronze, polished brass, and satin nickel.

NFC, when implemented properly, is a wonderful tool that is quick and efficient. You could already use it for file sharing, fast device pairing, and mobile payments. It's great that now, thanks to Yale, you can also use it to open your front door.

If you like the idea of unlocking your front door with a tap of your phone, then hit up the link below. Still have questions? Then stop by and check out Ryan Whitwam's preview from CES.

My initial motivation was the ability to open it with a code and not have to carry around a key, but I was aware of the ability to connect to it through wifi (I'm only beginning to learn about Z-Wave, so I knew nothing about it at that time). After looking at the manual, I was under the assumption that I had to buy a Schlage brand hub to interact with it. I decided it wasn't worth it to spend whatever they were charging just to have that one feature. Then while in Home Depot a month or so ago, I stumbled across the Wink hub priced at $50. After picking up the box and reading that it works with a bunch of other brands (including Schlage locks and Nest thermostats - of which I have two), I had to get it. And now I see the "Wink certified" sticker on a bunch of different products there, so I'm happy with my decision.

My biggest issue with Wink is that it didn't work out of the box until I had a really long call with tech support. Apparently, my unit had already been opened and tied to someone else's account, so there was nothing I could do on my end. They had to remotely wipe it. It's worked pretty well since, but I will say that it's not 100% consistent. Sometimes it seems to move a little slower than normal. Even worse, I got no response when I tried unlocking the door yesterday with the Wink app. Luckily, I was already home and a quick reboot did the trick, but I would have been pretty pissed if I was away and trying to remotely unlock the door for someone. For those reasons, I think I would prefer NFC technology, but I'm not giving up Z-Wave for it.

To end this novel on a positive note, the Wink app was updated recently to include some advanced features of the Schlage locks, so you can add/delete/edit user codes straight from the app. No more pulling out the manual just to add a code.

James Seagle

You would be comfortable handing over your smartphone to a cop?

CoreRooted

Most of these locks offer a single use code (entered via a hidden keypad usually) and/or a keyed option. This one allows you to create multiple codes to give out to people (or law enforcement) as needed. There is ZERO need to have to give your device over to anyone to operate your lock.

James Seagle

My point was if everything is on your phone, drivers license, would you be comfortable giving your phone to a cop at a traffic stop because your drivers license is on your phone.

Brad

Android lets you pin apps so people can't snoop... so yes.

James Seagle

I would never willingly hand my phone to law enforcement, I'm sure they would interpret my giving them my phone as permission to do whatever they want with it, like search it.

Brad

That's a valid concern, absolutely. However - if you pin your ID when you hand it to them (lollipop feature) you can have it set up so they need your screen PIN to get out of that app to actually search it. I'm not calling you wrong, I'm just saying there are nets being put in place. I currently use my phone to show my insurance info... they've never taken the phone, just looked at it in my hands. That's insurance info, though, so they give less of an eff about it.

CoreRooted

Actually, yes. I have no issues with showing my phone (or having to tap my phone via NFC or RFID) for an officer to see my license. Same goes for insurance information and such. I'm also very good about security on my phone(s). I use pins (with the random layout sequence enabled) and on my newer devices, I encrypt. Many people (including quite a few here) see that as "too much work", however, because of said "work" I'm quite secure knowing that if I lost a device or had to turn it over for whatever reason, my data is still secure.

Martin Cohen

Bet it's cracked within a week.

CoreRooted

Considering that none of the bluetooth locks have been cracked yet, I doubt your estimate is correct.

Rawhi Mohammad

You mean, opening the door with your hand.

Maxr1998

Ah, I noticed you got a new writer! Congratulations AP!

Jeff Beck

Thanks for noticing

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yokel

Ok, so do I need to hold my phone right next to this, or will it unlock as I approach while phone is in my pocket/purse?

Cause if I still have to dig my phone out, it feels very much like I am digging my keys out. Not saving me enough physical movement.

jj14x

NFC, so phone will need to be right next to the lock. You may want to look at the BT enabled locks instead. (or the Z-wave ones)

Brad

NFC must be within like... 5mm I think? Not sure the number, but really close is the point.

Augie Espinal

Nothing new here, I use Kwikset's Z-Wave lock along with an NFC sticker to unlock it.